remodel

All About Our New Deli

Rasberrys has a new look and deli items to-go. By Sabina Dana Plasse. Sun Valley Property News (SVPN) August Issue, pages 246-247

Always striving to provide their customers with more choices and better service, the Rasberrys, Maeme and Callie, have completed a remodel of their downstairs dining room bistro café adding more space to their inside dining and kitchen to satisfy a demand for their take-out.  With a newly installed deli case and their signature antique cabinets, there is more room for distance dining downstairs and take-out for other Rasberrys' delicacies including bread, desserts, pantry items and whatever the girls feel like making that day. 

The past few months, Elias Construction, along with much time, consultation and genius design ideas from their Aunt Annette Frehling, owner of Sister in Ketchum, the Rasberrys were able to add more square footage to their downstairs dining room by opening up a storage area and moving their tables and seating.   The new space, painted a delicious French blue and sweet red with vintage chandeliers and ornamentations blending beautifully and cohesively with the eclectic art and put “perfectly where it wants to live,” as Aunt Tita says, has truly expanded their signature style. 

“We had a real need for more space,” says Callie.  “Our solution was to work with the space we had.  It was our landlady who offered over her storage space so we could expand and it worked out amazingly.  We are busy every day with diners dining outside and some inside, with proper social distancing and sanitizing of course.  But the deli has been off the charts, which is wonderful, considering all that is happening with the pandemic.”

When you come downstairs, the area has been made larger and is adorned with decor accents and other elements, some that were there before and some newly added.  “Our mirror and bench are the same, but now they look even better,” says Callie. “We write on the glass of the deli case so customers can see what's waiting for them on the other side.  When one offering sells out, we wipe off the writing to get ready for something new.  We think it's one of the best additions we've made since we opened the restaurant.  I can’t say if it ages us or makes us feel younger, but it takes me back to the time when we first moved here and worked at Esta.  It feels like yesterday, but oh how far we have come.”

Providing fresh, organic and local foods, the Rasberrys serve their celebrated Tex-Mex cuisine and all their signature salads, sandwiches, soups and daily specials.  And they never leave you wanting for homemade desserts, cookies, fresh baked goods and breads by their in-house baker Riley Heneghan, along with their house-made spice blends and seasonal goodies.

“We try and keep all the dishes local and organic as much as possible,” says Callie “to ensure the quality, flavor and bounty of what our community has to offer shines in the different dishes we create.”

If you adore Rasberrys, but still want to stay cuddled at home, your favorite items are available to go, including their Tex-Mex dishes, all day Monday through Friday.   You can also purchase local cheese from Picabo Desert Farms, specialty pastries, cakes and desserts by Mary Jones from the Chocolate Moose, farm fresh eggs from Harmony Eggs, crunchy kales, delicate salads and microgreens from Itty Bitty Farms, Squash Blossom Farms and Kasota Hydroponics (with new farmers being added every day), local pastured meats from CD Enterprises and a plethora of in-house made goods from seasonal produce.

The Rasberrys continue to serve the Valley’s needs for catering and are humbled that they have been chosen by their fans as an award-winning catering business.   They are adept at customizing any event, big or small, just for you.   Right now, though, they are most excited about their new deli counter, upstairs and downstairs distance dining and to-go service and hoping everyone who comes to the new space will feel special, just like the girls feel every time a customer walks through their brand-new door,  hand painted by local artist Karen Jacobsen.  

“We want to thank everyone who has allowed, helped and been there cheering us on through this expansion and all of you who have continued to support us, from all of our staff to all of our customers.  We want to be here for the community because they have been here for us.  Without community, there is no Rasberrys,” says Maeme. “Now we are able to do more of what we've always wanted to do.   Help keep everyone healthy, safe and fed.”